The Monastery of the Dormition had the honour of receiving the following highly ranked personalities:

His majesty the Tsar Alexander I in 1818 and 1825;

The Emperor Nicolas I on 26th June 1817 and in September 1837;

The Empress Alexandra Fiodorovna on 13th September 1837

The heir Tsarevitch Alexander Nikolaievitch on 14th September 1837;

The Grand Duchess Maria Nicolaievna on 13th September 1837;

The Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna on 30th May 1838;

The Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna on 1st September 1838

The Grand Prince Constantin Nikolaievitch on 2nd September 1845 and on 19th May 1850;

The Grand Princes Nicolas and Mikhail Pavlovitch on 1st October 1854;

His Majesty the Duke George of Mecklenburg on 1st November 1855;

The Emperor Alexander II and the Empress Maria Alexandrovna and their august children the Grand Prince Serguei Alexandrovitch and the Grand Princess Ksenia Alexandrovna on 4th May 1886.

By the author of this article: The first member of the Romanov dynasty who visited the Rock of the Dormition was the Empress Catherine II who is said to have been praying in the cavern temple of the Monastery with the Roman Emperor Joseph II on 21st May 1787. (A. Oumanets, Historical reports on Crimea. 1887. Published in the magazine The shores of Tavrida, 1992, N 1, p. 253). Doing his duty as a sovereign, his imperial Majesty the Tsar Nicolas II paid several visits to the Monastery of the Dormition. The last time he went to the Monastery was August 30, 1931, and he was accompanied by the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna and the Grand Princesses Olga Nikolaievna, Tatiana Nikolaievna and Anastasia Nikolaievna (The voice of Crimea magazine, 19213, N 5, p.20).

Chapter II

The opening day of the Monastery of the Dormition in Bakhchisaray

The Monastery of the Dormition in Bakhchisaray opened in 1850 due to the following event: In 1848, Innokenti, Archbishop of Kharkov, ascended the pulpit of Kherson and Tavrida.

Visiting Crimea, his Eminence noticed the decay of the ancient sacred places in the Tavrida mountains and proposed the restoration of the most important part of them and the introduction of Athonite monastic rules.

The famous rock of the Dormition, known since time immemorial and frequently visited by pilgrims, became the site of the monastery which ruled over all the other sacred places.

Archbishp Innokentiís proposal was presented to the Holy Synod which approved and ratified it on 15th of April 1850 and on 15th of August the Monastery of the Dormition was founded in the presence of a large number of witnesses.